Originally Posted by tomdavie

Hi Gang.

We just bought our Toyota Highlander Limited 4x4 about a week ago. The whole thing we wanted was better environment, gas mileage, and of course the high resale value of toyota, amongst other pluses in quality. We paid $43k which included :

42000 MRSP -3k off = 39000. We got gap and extended warranty = 2k . We paid taxes title insu which was also 2k. So we paid 43k for the top end hybrid. Pretty pricy.

It said 31 and 27 mileage EPA. I already knew from our 2 other vehicles that EPA is full of it as a rule.

We only have 100 miles on it and the computer says 22mpg. Most has been small trips of about 2 miles. I took it out on the highway last night just to help break the engine in. From what i have read here, we could be doing better, but it isnt that important to alter our life to squeeze a few more mpg.

My jeep grand cherokee limited is 'supposed' to get 16 and 20 according to the EPA but in reality gets about 12 mpg around town. The 20 is fairly accurate on the open road under optimal driving conditions. The Jeep has an inline 6 , 4.0 litre and torques about 195hp.

we also have a little ford escort which is a total miser. She gets about 20mpg in the city real world, and at least 35mpg on the highway. Love that sucker.

We traded a beautiful and powerfull but economical disaster Chevrolet Trailblazer LTZ because of the high miles on it and the horrible 10mpg real world city driving. My wife loved her 'machine' and was sorry to give up her 'kick azz' monster truck. So we got her the Highlander hybrid to get the best of both worlds and appease her needs.

This highlander has better pickup and power than both of the suv's, and of course the gas mileage is much much better. We didnt buy the thing to squeeze every drop out of the EPA , or we would have bought a pirus. Better yet, bought a bicycle.

To think we can drive a 268 hp fully loaded SUV and get 22mpg real world out of the sucker in the city is a miracle in its own right. As much as i detest the bait and switch of the EPA of all vehicles, i already knew to expect 80% real world.

We are delighted that we are helping the enviroment and putting a whole pile of $$$ back into our pockets, instead of giving it to oil companies who artificially inflate gas prices whenever the hell they think they can get away with it , using excuses that are pathetic and intelligence insulting.

Originally Posted by tomdavie

Bob:

thankyou. I have a question for you. What do you guys think of the cali companies hacking the prius with extra plug in batteries to get 100mpg? Do you think toyota will catch on and offer us plug in refits for the highlander?